This is my (Della) travel testimony – written for the Christian Travelers’ Network (CTN), on 7 February, 2024.
The (edited) text from that article follows:
Greetings from Australia!
My name is Della and I’m passionate about travelling ministry.
I grew up in an active Christian home surrounded by people who are faithful to God and His Word. I would call myself a “Baptist with a love and appreciation for the Jews”. As a Baptist in the 1970s and 80s, “Missions” was instilled in our hearts from a young age — I recall wanting to be a missionary from around the age of 8yo (1978). When I was 13 years old (in 1983), I was baptized by full emersion and committed my life to the LORD.
Aged 22 (1992), I believe the LORD called me, personally and literally, to “Go into all the world…” (Matthew28:19 and Mark16:15) which I interpreted as “International travelling ministry”.
I met my husband, Gary, in September 1993 and his calling was to “go into all Australia and preach the Gospel” – he was booked to begin Bible College studies the next year to get some training. We were married the week before college started in January 1994!
[Click here to read the 160-page long version of our whirlwind romance!]
After he graduated, we did “Apostolic-style” travelling ministry for the following 10 years, going to one place after another, for a few months (or a few years) here and there, doing whatever the LORD opened up, down the east coast of Australia, from Cairns (QLD) to Hobart (TAS).
Eg We ran a “drop in centre’ at one town, and a “Supported Accommodation” facility in another place.
In May-June 2006, I had my first trip to Israel! It was there that the Lord gave me a heart for Jewish mission, and I enjoyed the opportunity to share the Good News in the streets of Israel for a few weeks, and to visit the Messianic congregations around the Holy Land to encourage them (see www.kehila.org).
When my husband turned 50yo (in 2004) though, he had a “mid-life crisis” and began down the road of ungodliness. After 3 years of gradually growing apart, he asked me to leave (in March 2007) – he didn’t need “Christians” in his life and certainly not a godly wife making him feel guilty about his new, depraved choices!
Devastated, I lost my compass for a few years: “How’s a single person supposed to do travelling ministry?” I complained to the LORD.
After 4 years of separation, he divorced me to marry one of his live-in girlfriends. I was so disappointed — I was sure this mid-life crisis was just “a season” and that he would get over it, one day, so we could get on with our lives and ministry together. It seemed that I was sadly mistaken.
But, God had an amazing plan! In 2009, I heard about the Covenant Players (CP) – a travelling Christian drama ministry. I joined them in January 2010 and we travelled around Australia and New Zealand for the next 3 years, sharing the Gospel and Biblical principles through plays in congregations, schools, nursing homes and prisons. It was amazing!!
“So this is how a Christian single can safely be in travelling ministry!” I joyfully thanked the LORD when I realised that I did not need to be married to be in full-time travelling ministry! “You are so awesome, LORD!”
After 3 years travelling with CP, my Dad, who was almost 70yo, was struggling to run our family farm, so I came home to Narrabri (occasionally working casually with CP when they needed an extra). But, my heart longed to travel again. My heart longed to go back to Israel to share the Good News with His Covenant people.
Surprisingly, my Dad and his brother, who finally inherited the family farm in 2014 (after their mother went Home to the LORD) decided to each subdivide a small portion off each for themselves and sell the rest!
Two days after the handover (on 23rd April 2015), I went to hear an Israeli evangelist speak in a nearby town. His message about “The Importance and Significance of Jewish Evangelism” made my heart soar! Here was an opportunity to share God’s love with His covenant people from my own farm! (Listen to his message: 1:14hr).
Omri needed an on-road secretary so, knowing my parents would be OK to run a hobby farm without me for the next decade, I joined Omri on the road a week later.
We travelled full-time for the next four years (2015-2019), promoting the HIT (Hosting Israeli Travelers) network throughout 23 countries – our aim: “Every day a meeting; every day in a different town!” I’ve never been so fulfilled in ministry – I was doing travelling ministry AND giving others the opportunity to share the Good News with Israelis!! What an incredible ride! By the Grace of God, we found almost 4,000 house-holds around the world who would be willing to host Israelis. I’ve never felt so fulfilled!
We stayed in host homes everywhere we went, enjoying wonderful fellowship, and experienced their country and culture through the eyes of the locals! I highly recommend staying with Christians as you travel!
But, of course, that all stopped with the lockdowns in 2020. However, it was good timing for me. My mother had passed away in late-2018, and my Dad had heart issues – the open heart surgery had brought on dementia. So, I was glad to be free to be home to care for him.
“But what will I do to feel like I’m ministering, LORD? How do I fulfil my calling if I cannot travel anymore?”
In July 2020, I friend told me about the CalledTogether website – a place where singles with a heart for missions could fellowship. It was there that I began to “meet” other believers from around the world with a heart for missions, including:
- Vincent (& soon his new wife Joanna) in NC, USA – together we founded InteGRITy Academy and I consult for their Dignified Training academy.
- Abraham from Nigeria – I helped create his ministry website Celebration Ministry
- Sarah from Adelaide, South Australia – together we founded Christian Singles Retreats (more below).
For the first time in my life I felt “contentment” at home! It was a very weird feeling for me, a nomad!! LOL!
In early 2021, the LORD inspired me to invite my single friends who had been in lockdown alone for months and months, to come and hang-out at our family farm for a weekend of Godly encouragement with other singles. I was completely overwhelmed by the response – some travelling over 800 miles (1400km) to come to our farm, including people I didn’t even know! Within months, I had 178 single people on my mailing list from 30 countries, all wanting Christian Singles Retreats! One guy even created a website for me! (see www.kedesh.net/retreats). During our third retreat, this time in the Adelaide Hills of South Australia, we decided to start a magazine, with articles written by singles, for singles (see www.kedesh.net/magazine).
But then, the Delta variant of COVID-19 arrived and shut down all those aspirations! As it turned out, the dementia was getting worse for my Dad so I couldn’t travel anyway! So we were glad we could stay connected through the magazine – we produced 7 magazines over the next 18 months.
My plan, one day when my Dad no longer needed me, was to build out a campervan and travel around Australia (and the world, if finances became available) running Christian Singles Retreats and promoting HIT. So while I was “stuck” at home, I kept the travel bug in me at bay by watching “van-life” videos and designing my future home (a campervan) – it’s now over 100 pages of notes in my tablet!
But, on the 4th December 2022, I got an unexpected call from Gary! His wife had died. We chatted like old friends for an hour! Wow! He’d come back to the LORD and was now passionate about serving him, by “Preparing“! It was incredible to hear.
Over the proceeding 4 months, we called each other about once/week; our friendship rebuilding and fellowship renewed.
On the 4th April 2023, he asked “Della, would you consider being my wife again?!”
“I never not wanted to be your wife, Gary – you divorced me, remember!” I replied. “But, I’m not available right now! I need to care for my Dad.”
But, from then on we called every day, often multiple times a day, to pray together and read the Scriptures. It is fantastic. Not even the former “Pastor Gary” liked doing that with me in the past (which was a huge disappointment when we were first married because I had {apparently wrongly} assumed that the spiritual head of the house would want to lead his family in prayer and Bible reading!)
By late August 2023, a friend had taken over the Christian Singles Retreats ministry but had asked if I’d come to her first Retreat on the Gold Coast Hinterland so I could train her. Over that weekend, the LORD very clearly indicated to me that it was His will was for me to be with my husband again. [For more details about this, please go to www.kedesh.net/concerned]
So, I told Gary that, if he still wanted to take me on as his wife again, then I’d be available after Dad’s 80th birthday (6 months later)! When I got home, I told my sisters that I would no longer be available to care for our Dad full-time after he turned 80yo (in March 2024). Their response was “It’s not your burden, Della – it’s all of us – we’ll work something out!”
Thus, we set the date for 15th March 2024, just 10 days short of exactly 17 years since we separated, to renew our vows made almost exactly 30 years since we first promised them! I can hardly believe it!! All that prayer and fasting for our marriage back in 2006 to 2011 finally paid off! I was only a season – a very, very, very long season!
God is an awesome God!
Now trusting God with my Dad as my sisters care for him.
Like Sarah from CTN, I too am interested in hearing other people’s journeys of faith, especially with their travels. Please share your story with me!
=== Anything below here has nothing to do with Kedesh Ministries or Della’s testimony of Grace ===
Kedesh 